A Private Letter to British Crown Princess Victoria
About Meeting Karl Marx

by
Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff

Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa, the eldest daughter
of the British monarch and wife of the Prussian Crown Prince (and future
German emperor, Frederick III), expressed to British politician Duff an
interest in this Dr. Marx she was hearing so much about.

Duff managed to meet with Marx at the Devonshire
Club on January 31 1879. He immediately wrote to the princess the next
day. Duff included parts of this letter in his memoires (Notes from a Diary,
1873-1881), but removed all reference to the recipient.

The letter was published in full for the
first time in The Times Literary Supplement, July 15 1949 -- "A Meeting
with Karl Marx", by A. Rothstein. Transcribed for the Internet on Jan 18
1996 by Zodiac. Html markup in 1999 by Brian Baggins

February 1, 1879

Madam,

Your Imperial Highness, when I last had the honour of seeing you,
chanced to express some curiosity about Carl Marx and to ask me if I knew
him. I resolved accordingly to take the first opportunity of making his
acquaintance; but that opportunity did not arise till yesterday when I
met him at luncheon and spent three hours in his company.

He is a short, rather small man with grey hair and beard which
contrast strangely with a still dark moustache. The face is somewhat round,
the forehead well shaped and filled up -- the eye rather hard but the whole
expression rather pleasant than not, by no means that of a gentleman who
is in the habit of eating babies in their cradles -- which is I daresay
the view which the Police takes of him.

His talk was that of a well-informed, nay; learned man -- much interested
in Comparative Grammar which had led him into the Old Slavonic and other
out of the way studies and was varied by many quaint turns and little bits
of dry humour, as when speaking of Hesekiel's life of Prince Bismarck he
always referred to it, by way of contrast to Dr. Busch's book, as the Old
Testament. [Referring to G. Hesekiel's, Das Buch vom Grafen Bismarck,
Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1869]

It was all very positif slightly cynical -- without any
appearance of enthusiasm -- interesting and often, as I thought, showing
very correct ideas when he was conversing of the past or the present; but
vague and unsatisfactory when he turned to the future.

He looks, not unreasonably, for a great and not distant crash
in Russia; thinks it will begin by reforms from above which the old bad
edifice will not be able to bear and which will lead to its tumbling down
altogether. As to what would take its place he had evidently no clear idea,
except that for a long time Russia would be unable to exercise any influence
in Europe.

Next he thinks that the movement will spread to Germany taking
there the form of a revolt against the existing military system.

To my question "But how can you expect the army to rise against
its commanders?" he replied -- you forget that in Germany now the army
and the Nation are nearly identical. These Socialists you hear about are
trained soldiers like anybody else. You must not think of the standing
army only. You must think of the Landwehr -- and even in the standing army
there is much discontent. Never was an army in which the severity of the
discipline led to so many suicides. The step from shooting oneself to shooting
one's officer is not long, and an example of the kind, once set, is soon
followed.

But supposing I said the rulers of Europe came to an understanding
amongst themselves for a reduction of armaments which might greatly relieve
the burden on the people what would become of the Revolution which you
expect it one day to bring about?

Ah, was his answer they can't do that. All sorts of fears and
jealousies will make that impossible. The burden will grow worse and worse
as science advances for the improvements in the Art of Destruction will
keep pace with its advance and every year more and more will have to be
devoted to costly engines of war. It is a vicious circle -- there is no
escape from it. But I said you have never yet had a serious popular rising
unless there was really great misery. You have no idea, he rejoined, how
terrible has been the crisis through which Germany has been passing in
these last five years.

Well I said supposing that your Revolution has taken place and
that you have your Republican form of Government -- it is still a long
long way to the realization of the special ideas of yourself and your friends.
Doubtless he answered but all great movements are slow. It would merely
be a step to better things as your Revolution of 1688 was -- a mere stage
on the road .

The above will give Your Imperial Highness a fair idea of the
kind of ideas about the near future of Europe which are working in his
mind.

They are too dreamy to be dangerous except just in so far as the
situation with its mad expenditure on armaments is obviously and undoubtedly
dangerous.

If however within the next decade the rulers of Europe have not
found means of dealing with this evil without any warning from attempted
revolution I for one shall despair of the future of humanity at least on
this continent.

In the course of conversation Carl Marx spoke several times both
of Your Imperial Highness and of the Crown Prince and invariably with due
respect and propriety. Even in the case of eminent individuals of whom
he by no means spoke with respect there was no trace of bitterness or savagery
-- plenty acrid and dissolvent criticism but nothing of the Marat tone.

Of the horrible things that have been connected with the International
he spoke as any respectable man would have done.

One thing which he mentioned showed the dangers to which exiles
who have got a revolutionary name are exposed. The wretched man Nobiling,
he had learned, had when in England intended to come to see him. If he
had done so he said I should certainly have admitted him for he would have
sent in his card as an employe of the Dresden Bureau of Statistics
and as I occupy myself with Statistics it would have interested me to talk
with him -- What a pleasant position I should have been in he added if
he had come to see me!

Altogether my impression of Marx, allowing for his being at the
opposite pole of opinion from oneself, was not at all unfavourable and
I would gladly meet him again. It will not be he who whether he wishes
it or not will turn the world upside down.